The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-12-02
Sleeping Apartments.


the bed-chamber. and therefore, its
healthfulness cannot fail to have very
important bearing upon our physical
well-being." Everybody. indeed. who
is actuated by due regard for health
and real comfort, will consider an equal
degree of attention necessary in giving
attention to the size. situation, temper.
ature and cleanliness of the apartment
he occupies during the hours of repose.
as Of the parlor. drawing room Or any
other apartment; and yet how very Of.
ten do we find families crowded at
night in obscure and confined chambers.
Of dimensions scarcely more ample
than those of an oldfashioned closet
while perhaps. in the majority of in
stances, the best rooms in the whole
house are set apart for the sole purpose
of ostentatious display. Now II is very
important that the largest and most
elevated room, or rooms, upon the
second floor of the dwelling be appro-
prlated for the purposes of sleeping,
and that the same be properly ventilat-
ed during the daytime and during all
seasons of the year.
There are few houses, the rooms of
which'are so situated as to render good
ventilation impossible, and the innu-
ence of this practice upon the health of
inmates is too important to permit be.
ing neglected from any slight cause.
A bed-chamber should be Invested of
all unnecessary furniture, and unless of
considerable size, should never contain
more than one bed. There cannot be
a more pernicious custom than that pur-
sued by some, indeed by many families,
of having their children sleep in small
apartments, with two and sometimes
with three beds crowded into the same
room. 1t Is scarcely necessary to OBJ
serve that cleanliness, in the most ex-
tensive Specification of the term, is. if =
possible, even more necessary with
reference to the bed-chamber than
with almost any other apartment in
the whole house. The practice of
sleeping in room which is occupied
during the daytime is extremely un-
wise. Perfect cleanliness and sufficient
free ventilation cannot under such CIR
cumstanccs be preserved, especially
during cold weather; hence the tmos-
phere becomes more vitiated, and Ito
gether unfit for respiration. While too
great degree of caution cannot be OBJ
served to avoid sleeping in damp
rooms. beds or clothing, the tempera-
ture of the bed-chamber if possible
should never be increased, under the
ordinary circumstances of health, by
artificial means. As this apartment is
to be reserved solely for sleep. fire is
never necessary, excepting, possibly.
during extreme cold weather, and even
then, the temperature ought not to ex-
coed fifty degrees.
A sleeping apartment in which
heavy fire has been kept for several Z
hours prior to retiring, may to some
persons, at first thought offer great
comfort But right here. great danger
is very liable TO occur, since by heating
the room to such an extent as has been
referred to the system becomes greatly
enervated, creating an increased
susceptibility to the influence of the
cold air, and thus the way is opened to
the attack of some of the most serious
disease, especially of the throat and
lungs. Happy indeed, should those
persons esteem themselves whose
means forbid an indulgence in this form
of luxury! A person accustomed to
undress in a room without fire, and to
seek repose in cold bed, will not ex-
perience the least inconvenience. even
in the severest of Winter weather. The
natural heat of the body will very
speedily render person, under such
even more comfortable
than he or she will be who sleeps in
heated apartment. rs experience has
amply verified. But this is not all.
The constitution of the one accustomed
to sleeping in a room which is not
heated will be rendered more
robust and strong. and far less
susceptible to the influence of artificial
than that person who is
not so accustomed to sleep. Good